Mandatory HIV/AIDS testing as an additional precondition for the management of the HIV/AIDS pandemic : a South African women’s human rights perspective

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A multitude of articles has been written on HIV/AIDS. In almost every instance, writers tend to draw the readers' interest to the number of people either infected or affected by the disease within a particular year. While these figures are staggeringly high and the cure still very much elusive, society continues to handle HIV with caution. However the literature review suggests the contrary, that society become more aggressive in their methodology in managing HIV/AIDS, by proposing mandatory HIV/AIDS testing as an additional pre-condition for the management of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A South African woman’s human rights perspective has been evaluated within this context, the rational being that should this type of testing alleviate the effects of the disease on one of the most vulnerable group’s women; the benefit on less vulnerable groups would be far greater, while holistically reducing the effects and prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South Africa.